Live Cell Migration Imaging on a Microfabricated Silicon Wafer

NIH-3T3 cells were adhered to three kinds of 3D micro-patterned scaffolds, placed face-down into culture medium in glass-bottomed dishes, and cell migration and the scaffolds were observed over 72 h. The three scaffolds differed only in terms of the unit shape of the repetitive pattern, namely a scale structure with equilateral triangular pores, a check structure with regular tetragonal pores, or a stripe structure with rectangular grooves. The angle that cells turn is influenced by the unit shape of the 3D patterned scaffold on which they are cultured. These differences in the angles that migrating cells turned correlated with differences in the angles they extended protrusions. In summary, the unit shape of the micro-patterned scaffold affects the angle at which cells extend, which in turn affects the angle at which migrating cells turn.